Mexico's largest freshwater lake, Lake Chapala, lies within the boundaries
of Jalisco.

Flora and
fauna

There are a variety of species of vegetation and wildlife in
Jalisco. Notably this is an original location of the domestication
of the Wild turkey and also the northern extent of
the range of the subspecies of the Wild turkey that occurs in this
region.[2]

Executive power rests with the Governor of Jalisco, who is
directly elected through secret ballot to a 6-year term, with no
possibility of reelection. Legislative power rests with the Congress of
Jalisco which is a unicameral
legislature composed of 40 deputies. Judicial power is invested
in the Superior Court of Justice of Jalisco.

Municipalities and
regions

Like the rest of Mexico, the state of Jalisco is divided into
municipalities (communes), most of which are named after the town
that serves as the municipal seat. Unlike English-language municipalities,
Mexican municipalities (or municipios) include both a
central city or town and surrounding villages, towns and rural
land. Each municipio has a municipal president. The largest
municipio in Jalisco is Mezquitic.

The municipalities are grouped into the following regions
(regiones):[3]

Altos Norte

Altos Sur

Centro

Ciénega

Costa Norte

Costa Sur

Norte

Sierra de Amula

Sierra Occidental

Sur

Sureste

Valles

Demography

Congregation of people at a street crossing

The population of Jalisco was 6,753,114 inhabitants according to
the 2005 INEGI census. The 2000 INEGI census indicated that at that
time there were about 4,000,000 people in the greater Guadalajara
metropolitan area. The overall population growth rate for Jalisco
in the 2000-2005 period was 1.8%, and it is estimated that the
economically active population is 1,756,501 [4]

As is usually the case through the whole nation, the base of the
population pyramid is considerably wide as 56% of the Jalisco
inhabitants are under 30 years of age.

In terms of other particulars, life expectancy is recorded at 73
years for men and 77,8 years of age for women; infant mortality is
lower the 0,5%; birthrate in the state is located around 0,2%; 95%
of the population in Jalisco follow Catholicism, one of the highest
numbers nationwide; and finally, regarding ethnic diversity, only
1% of those over 5 years of age speak an indigenous dialect, the
most common of which are the Huichol, Nahuatl and Purepecha.

Education

The educational statistics are rather worrying as 6 in 100
within that young segment do not attend school, 35 in 100 could not
finish primary school, and only one in 100 earns a professional
degree.

Culture

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Tequila

Jalisco is the center of the Mexican tequila industry, and the town of Tequila,
Jalisco, which gave its name to the famous liquor, is located
there. The volcanic soil covering much of the state of
Jalisco is particularly well suited for the cultivation of the blue
agave plant, which is used as the base for tequila.

The small town Quila is also a city in Jalisco.

Mariachi

Mariachis in Guadalajara

There are many hypotheses about where this lively music
originated from, but most people agree that Cocula, Jalisco was its birth place. Today,
Mariachis are seen as a symbol of the Mexican Revolution and as the
Mexican pride. Mariachi groups are usually hired for festive
occasions, such as birthday parties, quinceañera (traditional parties for girls
who are turning 15 years of age), and weddings.

Huichol
people

A Huichol artisan in traditional dress.

In the north of Jalisco, the indigeneous Huichol people live in towns that are difficult
to access due to their relative isolation in mountainous areas.
They call themselves wixarica, "The People," in their own
language. The name "Huichol" is derived from the name that was
given to them by Nahuatl
speakers.